Serena’s cheeks turned bright red as she belatedly realized what had just happened.

“……!”

Absurdly, Lucas was looking at Serena calmly and shamelessly as if nothing had happened.

“J-just now….. To me……”

“It’s the share I postponed from the engagement ceremony. It’s rightfully mine.”

Lucas, who had been much shorter than Serena, had to settle for kissing her hand instead of humiliatingly kissing her forehead at the engagement.

“Now I feel a bit relieved.”

He had always wanted to leisurely bend down and kiss her forehead someday. And now that wish had finally come true.

“Of course, there’s still an endless list of things I want to do.”

Serena blinked slowly. She wanted to kick him in the shin, but somehow it felt too late, and her awkward body wouldn’t move.

“There’s less than half a month left now.”

Lucas continued speaking on his own, leaving Serena standing there in a daze. As if kissing her forehead was nothing at all.

“I truly apologize for having you stay in this stuffy mansion until then.”

Seeing Lucas’s confident smile, Serena forgot what she was going to say.

“But once we’re married, no one will oppress you anymore.”

Is that really the only option? Is it truly impossible to live freely as a single person like in Astel?

“So, are you looking forward to our wedding?”

A smirk spread across Lucas’s lips. His dark eyes sparkled as if holding a splendid dream. And that carefree and confident demeanor infuriated Serena.

“Ah, spare me today.”

Indeed, Lucas quickly stepped back, proving that the rumors of his battlefield experience were not false. It happened in an instant.

“The bruise on my shin hasn’t fully healed yet, and I want to walk properly at the wedding.”

A hint of playfulness appeared on the face of the man who had looked so pitiful and in pain earlier. For now, it was impossible to tell which was his true face or what was sincere.

“And I can’t tarnish your honor with this secret meeting, so I’ll take my leave now.”

Contrary to his words, regret dripped from his steps, but there was a limit to how long Cedric could keep watch.

Above all, if this were to become known, it would create controversy about the qualifications of the already much-talked-about bride, and that was the last thing Lucas wanted.

“Then, I’ll see you at the wedding.”

Before Serena could reply, Lucas pulled his hood down, flashed a smile, and turned to leave through the door. Only the faint lingering scent around her indicated that what had just happened wasn’t a dream.

“Ah……”

And the scroll he had placed in Serena’s hand still held a trace of his warm body temperature.

“Is it alright to open this?”

One of the things she had learned while governing the domain as the acting duchess was that letters should not be opened carelessly.

Opening a letter sealed with the name and seal of a noble person could signify the start of a conversation or the initiation of a transaction.

“Well….. What more could happen when the wedding is just around the corner?”

Right now, Serena held the status of the future Crown Princess. Opening a letter from her fiancé, the Crown Prince, couldn’t make things any worse. Above all, she wanted to see with her own eyes what promise he had spoken of.

[To Serena Astel.]

Contrary to his somewhat rugged masculine impression, Lucas had an elegant handwriting.

[I, Lucas Tern, pledge with my noble name, status, and lifelong honor.]

Serena paused for a moment at that part. As this was a letter written by the Crown Prince, not just any nobleman, his lifetime included the authority of the future Emperor of this empire.

[This is a promise from one man to one woman, and an oath from a person named Lucas Tern to a person named Serena Astel.]

Blue eyes couldn’t stop and read the letter to the end. And as she reached the last line, she couldn’t help but gasp.

[I will protect Serena Astel’s free spirit and respect her will under any circumstances or situations, and this oath will not change even after my death.]

Though somewhat vague, it was the strongest expression for this era. Even based on her experience as an acting duchess, this was legally binding enough and used words that even the papal office would recognize.

“So that’s why he confidently intruded.”

Hoo, Serena exhaled deeply and muttered to herself. At the end of the letter was Lucas’s signature engraved. With both the Crown Prince’s seal and signature together, it was an undoubtedly firm promise.

“At least it’s better than a vow of love.”

And since he had staked his name on it, even the Emperor couldn’t forcibly break this promise. Doing so would be tantamount to permanently shattering his son’s honor.

“Will this… have any meaning?”

Her hatred towards Lucas had long since disappeared. In fact, the memory of quarreling with a little boy at the engagement ceremony couldn’t be of much importance.

“But if marriage is absolutely necessary…”

While it was sad that her free-living daily life in Astel territory had been disrupted, that had been decided the moment she became Serena, a duke’s daughter in this era.

Judging by the Duke of Astel’s attitude, even if it hadn’t been the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t have let Serena live as a single woman, so it was certain.

“…As much as I hate to admit it, this might be the best option.”

Rejecting Hyde Farel’s persistent courtship was partly to maintain her single life, but also because it was difficult for him to promise her many things.

“Still, this is too reckless.”

Lucas readily made a promise that even a mere grand duke couldn’t give, and put it in writing so that no one could take it away.

If she absolutely had to marry in this world, she wasn’t confident she could find a better match than this.

“…When Elise appears, will this promise and my current feelings all disappear?”

The original protagonist of this story is Elise. While she struggles to find her own life and happiness, Empress Serena withers away alone in the original plot.

“Wait.”

The word Elise strangely lingered on the tip of her tongue. At the same time, a passage from the original book that she had recalled when she first became Serena flashed through her mind.

[Elise decided to take advantage of the new marchioness’s ambition to make her only daughter the empress.]

At the time, she had thought it just meant that Elise would appear and the existing Empress Serena would have no power, but remembering where she was staying now suddenly gave her goosebumps.

“Anna, Anna!”

As Serena called urgently, Anna came running with quick steps, closed the door, and opened her eyes wide.

“Young lady, what’s wrong? I had to leave earlier because of His Highness the Crown Prince’s order… Did something happen……”

“No, forget about him.”

Could she find out something? But she shouldn’t jump to conclusions yet.

“Are there any other influential marquisates in the capital besides this one?”

“There are other marquises, but they’re not in the Imperial Council right now. Their capital mansions are empty too.”

The first thing Elise plots upon her appearance is to take advantage of the marchioness’s ambition to make her only daughter the empress. In other words, it’s a story that can only progress if the marchioness with an only daughter harbors ambition first.

“But, the new… marchioness?”

The word that bothered her unconsciously came out of her mouth. They could have just written Marchioness of Sherwood, so why the new marchioness?

“Oh my, young lady. Who did you hear that from?”

“What?”

Serena looked puzzled, not realizing she had been talking to herself.

“You just said ‘new marchioness’, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Oh, that……”

“That’s right. The current marchioness is the second wife. So there’s quite an age gap with the marquis.”

Now the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly. The new marchioness was Miranda, and her only daughter was Laura.

“The marchioness hates talking about that and must have strictly forbidden everyone from mentioning it, so who could have told you?”

“I just… seem to have overheard it in passing.”

Serena mumbled, changing the subject.

This world was originally from a story she didn’t know well, and she couldn’t say that her past self had died miserably before becoming Serena.

“Don’t let it show. It’s taboo in this mansion.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t because Serena wanted to, but because it was impossible. She had tried many times to tell Anna, who always stood by her side, about it, but her lips wouldn’t move and her voice wouldn’t come out.

“I can’t do it anyway.”

Serena uttered an ambiguous statement.

After countless attempts, the conclusion was that she absolutely could not tell others about the mysterious phenomenon that had happened to her and about her past life.

“Anna, there’s something I need to find out while we’re in this mansion.”

“What? You were so exhausted earlier. You should rest now.”

“No, I need to find out now while we’re in this marquis’s mansion.”

Seeing Serena’s resolute face, Anna immediately nodded. Usually, Serena was always cheerful and bold, but once she set her mind on something, it was impossible to guess what was inside.

“What should I do?”

“I need you to find out about a certain woman.”

“Who is she?”

Unfortunately, that sentence was almost all she knew about the original story.

“I don’t know.”

“What? Then how can I find out? More importantly, why……”

“Elise. Her name is Elise. She must be somewhere around here.”

Anna had many questions, but seeing Serena’s serious expression, she just nodded.

“Make sure only you and Peter know. Don’t let anyone know that I’m curious about Elise.”

“Yes. I’ll be extremely careful.”

It was still too early for Elise to appear.

But knowing where she was and what she was doing now would be a great help. At least she would know where the real protagonist might pop up from.